Roomassala - the mystery mountain

By Ishara Mudugamuwa

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Japan Peace Pagoda

Historical mountain Roomassala stands majestically in the vicinity of Galle harbour along Galle- Matara road. The pagoda built recently by a Japanese Buddhist glistens in the morning sun.

The mountain violates the continuity of the southern coastal belt. Many devotees, Hindus and other tourists throng this mountain to discover it’s mysteries and fantasies derived from the epic of Ramayana by Valmiki.

When I went there I felt that it is an ideal location to spend my leisure time peacefully. There are so many stories woven around the Roomassala Mountain.

It’s said that the life reviving medicinal herb Sanjeevanie grows here but so far no one has found it. But in Ramayana it is mentioned that sanjeevanie could heal Lord Rama and his army.

M. D. Somadasa Kariyawasam, a researcher on the subject, recalls that Ramayana is about the war between Lord Rama of Bharatha Desha, that is India, and king Ravana of Lanka, over Seetha, the most beautiful woman at that time in the history of the world, the wife of Lord Rama, abducted by Ravana and kept hidden at Seetha Eliya in Nuwara Eliya.

Lord Hanuman led a Vanara Sena (a monkey army ) to rescue Seetha, and the Vanara casualties were so great, and even when Lord Rama and Lakshmana were seriously injured, in the battlefield sanjeevanie was needed to revive them.

This hurb is said to have, the magical powers of reviving the dying and rejuvenating life. Hanumantha who leapt across to the Himalayas to pluck the herb sanjeevanie, in a hurry, pulled the whole section of Samantha Kuta where the herb grew, brought and dropped it near Galle.

But the folklore says it was only a part of Samantha Kuta that fell near Roomassala. But there is no evidence of the other part of the mountain that was supposed to have fallen. So it’s logical to think that the entire mountain is intact.

People in Roomassala say that when a pooja is in progress on top of Roomassala Mountain, there prevails an eerie atmosphere in the whole area. In addition to the medicinal herbs endemic to this mountain, it is said that even the gravity here is different from other parts of the country.

The Viharadhipathi of the Vivekarama temple on top of Roomassala, Ven Aththiligoda Saddathilaka thero told me that it is impossible to take any medicinal herbs and material away from the mountain.

Those who tried to do so are said to have got lost.In Roomassala, hardly do fathers and children meet each other. In the evenings their fathers go to the sea and return only the next morning and by that time the children have gone to school.

Fishermen believe that a mystic power works for them as they always yearn for the blessings of the Lord Rama and Hanuma. It helps them to get a good catch.